The invention of printing press and the process of book production had an important impact on the entire human action, affecting almost every political, economic, social, religious and philosophical field.
For centuries, the book production was mostly conducted in relation with the Church. And this is just one argument that could explain the contribution of religion and religious movements on accumulation and spreading the culture, stimulating the human capital evolution and the economic growth.
The paper indicates the reasons why the level of book production can be considered an indicator of the human capital evolution. Several references to religion movements, printing and bookselling are also included at that point. The role of Reformation in the development of human capital and long-run economic growth is also emphasized.
In its final part, the article brings some valuable ideas about the positive relationship of book production, literacy, human capital, urbanization and economic growth in Western Europe on the eve of Industrial Revolution. In these terms, it is taken into account a thesis regarding an economic growth scenario for Romanian territories, derived from a case study on religious roots of Romanian book production during (early) Modern Age.